• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, January 10, 2013

Ad Pages Down 8.2% In 2012

2012 was another tough year for magazines, with total ad pages falling 8.2% from 168,712 in 2011 to 154,838 last year, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Losses cut across most of the major magazine categories, although some individual titles did post positive results.
 
Out of 219 titles tracked by the PIB, 158 titles or 72% of the total experienced ad page declines. 74 titles or nearly 34% of the total experienced ad page declines of 10% or more, and 28 titles or 12.8% of the total experienced ad page declines of 20% or more.
 
Some of the biggest declines in percentage terms were seen at women’s interest titles, including Martha Stewart Living, down 29% to 766 ad pages; Shape, down 22.7% to 899 ad pages; Ladies’ Home Journal, down 21.9% to 741 ad pages; Lucky, down 20.3% to 893 ad pages; men’s interest titles were not spared, however: Maxim saw ad pages decline 22.2% to 392, and ESPN Magazine slipped 16.3% to 1,084.
 
On the positive side, ad pages increased 22.9% at Ebony to 702; 18.5% at Allure to 1,397; 17.3% at Food Network Magazine, to 1,042; 13.2% at OK Weekly, to 1,192; 12.1% at People en Espanol to 1,067; 11.9% at Marie Claire to 1,599; and 11.1% at Harper’s Bazaar to 1,840.
 
Total magazine ad pages tracked by the PIB have declined by over a third in the last decade. In 2006 the PIB tallied 252,122 magazine ad pages. Last year’s tally of 154,838 represents a decline of 38.6% over six years.
 
New Republic Gets New Design
 
A little less than a year after it was acquired by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, The New Republic is getting a new look, including a new logo, new format, and new visual treatment in the print edition and online. The revamp was led by Creative Director Dirk Barnett, who noted on the mag's site: “This redesign process was unique because we did everything backwards. Usually, the process starts with a logo, then the print edition, then the Web site, then the iPad. But this process started with the digital first.
 
The Atlantic Wire Gets Optimized For Tablets
 
The Atlantic is keeping pace with the rise of tablet computers in a number of ways, including a new redesign of The Atlantic Wire, its news and opinion-tracking site, to optimize it for Web browsing via tablet. The newly revamped site, touch.theatlanticwire.com, and features a swipe-to-browse user interface and the option to save stories and personalized content recommendations based on pre-selected areas of interest. The HTML5 app is free and ad-supported. According to the company, in December 2012, over 27% of The Atlantic Wire’s site traffic came from mobile devices.
 
CBS “The Job” Prize: Cosmo Editorial Assistant
 
You know the job market is bad when entry-level jobs are featured as prizes on reality TV shows. That’s the case with a new reality show from CBS called “The Job,” which pits contestants against each other in competitions to win various jobs -- including one episode where the prize is a post as an editorial assistant at Cosmopolitan. According to Mediabistro, future episodes also feature contestants duking it out for jobs at Major League Soccer, Zynga, Gilt and Epic Records.
 
 The Advocate Returns To Newsstands
 
After a two-year hiatus where it was subscription-only, veteran LGBT title The Advocate is returning to newsstands, effective with the February 2013 issue, which hits newsstands January 15. Editor in Chief Matthew Breen and Here Media Executive Vice President for Publishing Joe Landry cited both reader and advertiser demand as reasons for the move. The magazine will be available for purchase at Barnes & Noble, Hastings, and other select retailers at a cover price of $5.99.
 
Wired Reveals New Editorial Appointments
 
Wired announced a number of changes and promotions among its editorial staff this week. Jason Tanz has been named executive editor, with responsibilities including editorial oversight of content in the magazine and tablet editions. Robert Capps has been named deputy editor; Mark Robinson had been named features editor, and will also lead Wired’s e-books effort. Mark McClusky has been named editorial development director; Adam Rogers has been named articles editor and Shoshana Berger is director of special projects. Jacob Young has been named managing editor, with responsibility for leading the day-to-day operations of Wired’s editorial team.
 
 
Burgess To Detroit Editor, Motor Trend
 
Motor Trend has hired Scott Burgess as its new Detroit editor, publisher Source Interlink Media announced. Burgess will be responsible for covering everything from vehicle launches to press briefings, as well as identifying and analyzing industry trends. Burgess has previously covered autos for The Detroit News, AOL Autos, and Autoblog. He has also been featured as an automotive expert on television and radio and in international publications.

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